Central Michigan University
NCAA Championships
CMU's Oliver Falls In Wrestlebacks
3/17/2017 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
ST. LOUIS - Central Michigan's Justin Oliver fell on a 12-2 major decision on Friday in a 149-pound consolation-bracket match at the NCAA Wrestling Championships at Scottrade Center.
Oliver was the last Chippewa wrestler alive in the tournament. His loss, to Virginia Tech's Solomon Chishko, ended his tournament run at 3-2. The match winner earned All-America honors. Chishko was seeded sixth, Oliver was ninth.
Oliver, a sophomore, finished seventh a year ago at the NCAA Championships, earning All-America honors. He finished the season 32-9.
"I just feel like he got overpowered a little bit," CMU coach Tom Borrelli said of Oliver. "That kid's a big, strong kid, real explosive. He got on our legs and we couldn't defend him. We couldn't get anything of our own going. That happens. He beat us to the punch."
Nine Chippewas qualified for the championships. Just two of those wrestlers, Corey Keener (133) and Austin Severn (197) are seniors.
"I think this group of kids will respond to this," Borrelli said. "You've got to look at some things as a positive. We brought nine guys here, seven guys are coming back.
"I think they got some great experience here, but I think they're disappointed and not satisfied with themselves. If you can build on all that and take it the right way and come back stronger next year, we can have a very good situation next year."
The Chippewas finished with 19.5 team points, and were tied for 19th place after Friday's matches were completed. The tournament concludes on Saturday morning with the third-, fifth- and seventh-place matches. The championship matches are scheduled for Saturday night.
Penn State is the runaway leader in the team standings with 121 points, 31.5 ahead of second-place Ohio State. The Nittany Lions, who are seeking their second straight national title and sixth in the last seven years, have five wrestlers who will wrestle in championship matches on Saturday night.
The Chippewas began the day on Friday with seven wrestlers still alive in their respective weight classes. Keener, Mason Smith (141), Colin Heffernan (157) and Newton Smerchek (HWT) were eliminated in their one and only match on the day; CJ Brucki (174) and Jordan Ellingwood (184) each won a match and then bowed in the afternoon.
• Brucki, who was seeded 16th, bowed to Kyle Crutchmer, 5-3, on Friday afternoon after starting the day with a 13-5 major-decision victory over Princton's Jonathan Schliefer. Crutchmer was seeded seventh. Brucki, a junior, finished the season 31-10.
• Ellingwood, who was also seeded 16th, opened on Friday with an 8-0 victory over Mitch Sliga of Northwestern, then fell to ninth-seeded Nathan Jackson of Indiana, 9-6. Ellingwood, who is also a junior, finished 28-10.
• Keener lost, 6-2, to Northern Iowa's Josh Alber and finished 20-15.
• Smith, a freshman, dropped a 5-0 decision to Randy Cruz of Lehigh in closing a 24-14 season.
• Heffernan, a junior who was seeded 10th, dropped a sudden-victory match, 7-1, to eighth-seeded Jake Short of Minnesota and finished 30-9.
• Smerchek, also a junior, finished 24-13 after 4-0 to Ryan Solomon of Pittsburgh.
Players Mentioned
